In summary:

Bon Jovi appear to be going through the motions on their 12th studio album, which contains some impactful moments but lacks the hooks of their best work.

What About Now receives 4/11.
★★★★

If you ever want hear the sound of a band going through the motions, listen to What About Now.

This is the 12th studio album from veteran rockers Bon Jovi, who somehow managed to record another #1 hit with this largely uninspired project.

It’s also the final piece of work to feature Richie Sambora on lead guitar.

The axeman was reportedly struggling with the rigors of touring, and when What About Now was released he was said to be deeply unhappy at the album’s glossy finish and what he perceived to be the over-involvement of producer John Shanks.

He famously walked out on the band at the start of the What About Now world tour, severing his 30+ year friendship with Jon Bon Jovi in the process.

Listening to the disc from start to finish, it’s easy to understand Sambora’s frustrations.

Even the title track, an up-tempo rocker in the vein of Have A Nice Day, comes across as lifeless and bland.

Much of the blame for this lands at the knobs of producer John Shanks, who gives the album a glossy pop finish which squeezes the life out of the rock tracks by tempering Tico Torres’ drums, and by watering down the guitars.

You can see examples of this on potential hit single That’s What The Water Made Me and bonus track Into The Echo, both of which should’ve been absolute bangers.

Lyrically, Jon Bon Jovi seems trapped somewhere between wanting critical approval and only knowing how to do what he knows how to do.

For the most part, he continues his narrative of veteran rocker/cowboy (he never could decide), as he reminisces about failed relationships, growing older, and how the world ain’t what it used to be.

"Why they sold old CBGB's I just don't understand.
All that's left now are the t-shirts, and they come from Japan."

When he is able to pull himself out of this funk, however, the album springs to life!

Songs like Beautiful World and With These Two Hands demonstrate their ability to write fist-pumping anthems, and if the production wasn’t so harsh, they could’ve been some of the band’s best post-2000 work.

Outside of these two tracks, the best parts of What About Now consist of a few impactful moments, such as the impressive vocal performance on Amen, and the annoyingly catchy chorus of Because We Can (seriously, you’ll wanna hate it because it’s nowhere near heavy enough, but you’ll be humming this motherfucker all day regardless).

When this album first dropped, you were either Team Sambora or Team Bon Jovi.

Sambora wanted the band to stick to their tried and tested formula, whereas Bon Jovi wanted to show that crunching guitar riffs were no longer central to the band’s music, and desired to be taken more seriously as an artist.

In the aftermath of this LP, the general consensus in that Sambora was correct.

Stripping their sound of all the things which made Bon Jovi so great in the first place means that the album feels hollow and lacklustre, because anthems don’t sound like anthems when Bon Jovi are making a deliberate attempt to not sound like Bon Jovi.

In summary:

Bon Jovi appear to be going through the motions on their 12th studio album, which contains some impactful moments but lacks the hooks of their best work.

What About Now receives 4/11.
★★★★